Eisenhower Wants U.N. Assembly to Discuss Broad Middle East Problems

President Eisenhower said today that a special session of the United Nations General Assembly should discuss not alone Lebanon but the broader problems of the Middle East and their underlying causes.

Pointing out that the causes of present difficulty are wider than the Lebanese situation, Mr. Eisenhower told a press conference the United States wants to discuss the whole regional situation. The President said he would attend the United Nations session if he found it necessary or desirable.

Mr. Eisenhower said the United States believed in Arab nationalism and granted diplomatic recognition to the United Arab Republic because of this belief. He stressed the need for improved living standards in the Arab world, especially, and urged legitimate economic development.

The President pointed out that the United States sought acceptance of the Eric Johnston irrigation plan but that neither the Arabs nor Israel could accept the political consequences of agreement to a scheme that would be of mutual benefit to them. He urged capital investment for private economic development and said the United States must also give aid.